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Iowafun
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 955 Central Iowa
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2006-01-05          122285

For those that have suffered through my rants about gophers, I'm offering up a friendly word of warning for this spring.

The warm weather in Iowa this winter has the gophers working overtime on new tunnel construction - in my yard. I beat then back last spring, but they are coming back with a vengance. Worse than before.

This could get very ugly and could include explosives or other rapidly combustable items. I expect my rants will be bad this spring. Right now, my wife is very glad I still don't have that D4 Cat dozer I agreed to buy from her uncle. She knows I would be out there destroying the yard and gophers while kackling maniacally...

Just a friendly heads up that I may venting on this board soon.


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kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005
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2006-01-05          122287

I am beginning to feel under privilege. No snow or gophers.

But now tourists are another matter. "yankees" are our pest here. Notherners are fine. If you don't know the difference, it is "attitude".

kt
....

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Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002
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2006-01-05          122289

We each have our own cross to bare. Ours are armadillos. They tend to dig large holes everywhere. I caught one digging a 1.5 x 1.5 ft hole straight down about 2 ft one day in the front yard. I rolled the tractor tire over it, injected it with lead and filled in the hole. I told he kids it was nice that he dug his own grave.
That all said they are the less destructive than the neighbors pigs who break loose and sneak over at night and root up a whole patches of lawn. I have never had the shot gun handy when I caught them. Certainly better eating then the armadillos. ....

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kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005
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2006-01-05          122290

Peters,
sure you could not BBQ them?

I can see your name up in lights.

Pete's BBQ Armadillo. Could be bigger than KFC if you got the right marketing people. Then you might be forced to raise them. ....

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ScooterMagee
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2006-01-05          122299

Iowa,

I've had the same ongoing battle with the pocket gophers, with little success. I’ve been able to keep them out of my "good" lawn, but my acre of alfalfa field, garden, orchard and vineyard is another story. Persistent flooding of the new and existing tunnels, seems to keep them in check, but doesn’t even come close to eliminating them.

If you find something that works, let me know. I've tried about everything. ....

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kthompson
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2006-01-05          122300

Grophers are not something we have, but this may work.

I have heard of people running auto's exhaust into the ground for rat tunnels and the carbon monoxide killing the rats. I suspect even a lawnmower engine would be sufficient.

I don't know if you can find it there or if license is needed but they make a gas to kill weed seeds in seed beds for tobacco plants. It use to be buyable in same cans underpressure that you could run a small rubber tube into rat tunnels that also killed them. That gas is not something you want to breath either. Have never heard of anyone being killed by it but being made sick different story.

Warning, if you do either of these or similiar, be sure to cover all openings. I guess gophers will but I know rats will run faster out than you can jump if you don't and they will not be killed. They will run up your leg or over you if not careful.

kt ....

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Iowafun
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2006-01-07          122368

KT - I parked my old Oliver 4 cyliner diesel tractor by a hole two summers ago and piped the exhaust directly into the tunnel. I ran the tractor at decent RPM for over an hour. By the next morning, my digging to the tunnel had been repaired by the resident evil gopher.

The only thing that has really worked for me has been poisoned food. But that's hard work and is hit or miss. But it does work. Unfortunately, it leaves the tunnel system intact. The new crop of offspring just oves back in to the vacated tunnels and expand.

I'll keep everyone informed of what I do. aybe even some video footage...

The armadillos sound worse for holes, but at least you can see them to kill them. These gophers work at night. You wake up to new mounds of dirt in your yard. If they worked in the daylight, I'd be picking them off with a rifle.

I have something in mind that would kill goper and collapse the tunnel. We'll see what happens when spring arrives and how mad I am... ....

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Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002
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2006-01-07          122369

I was looking at the sonic chasers on the Delta Air line catalog (Long trip to Silicon Valley this week). They are solar powered and hammer down into the tunnels. They are probably more wild technology than practical solution.

The Armadillo also work at night. The holes are big enough to break a horse's or cow's legs. ....

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kthompson
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2006-01-07          122374

Iowa,

I started to put in my post this but I have been told diesel fumes will only make such sick, not kill. Have no idea on that. Surely there are there who know if this is true or not. Not sure if they still do but unwanted dogs and cats were put to sleep (killed) with gas pickup fumes by our county.

Something that will kill tunnelling animals but...are the right kind of snakes.

Wish you well.
kt
....

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Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002
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2006-01-07          122380

Now Ken is getting creative. I was thinking you should take up falconing. You could take a regal pose in the yard, falcon in hand and impress the neighbors.
The red neck way would be the black footed ferret on a leash. Naturally the neighbors would all be snickering, at least until the ferret dispatches all the rodents. I believe the sent of the ferret delays them re-inhabiting the burrows also. ....

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kwschumm
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2006-01-07          122381

Those sonic chasers worked for me, with one problem. They claim effectiveness to 25 or 50 feet and it's more like 5-10 feet. That worked when we had a tiny lot in suburbia but on any acreage you'd probably want to forget it, unless maybe you just want to keep them out of a small area. ....

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kthompson
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2006-01-07          122382

Peters,

I think he (Iowa) should consider filming this what ever this turns out to be. He should be able to make enough money to retire right. Either selling the film to such as Animal Planet on the human way or to America's Funniest Video or as a follow up to I think Caddy Shack.

The ideo of the falcon is very good. WOnder is he could lease space to others with falcons?

kt
kt ....

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Peters
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2006-01-07          122392

I can just picture him now, standing in the front yard with his red long johns on. His colored Fruit of the Loom briefs are pulled over the top. From the back of his closet he has rescued the long forgotten silk disco shirt and delicately rolled the cuffs. In his Stetson he has added a long colored plume. On his left arm he has his welding glove and perched on the glove is a red tailed hawk. Striking the Kingly Falconer's pose he releases the bird to attack the gophers.
The money from the video on the Worlds Funniest, should about pay for the devastation left by the tractor after he tries to dig them up. ....

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Oliver
Join Date: Sep 2003
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2006-01-07          122394

I have a problem with woodchucks that live near the barn and horse paddocks. This seems like the ultimate solution -- now to convince my wife... ....


Link:   Rodenator

 
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Peters
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2006-01-07          122395

Now we are into Caddy Shack 3 territory. What happens if you get into an extensive network of tunnels, does the ground open up and swallow you up? A large woodchuck tunnel network could crack the foundation on the barn. ....

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Iowafun
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2006-01-09          122474

Oliver, the Rodenator is exactly what I've been considering for 2 years now. The price is what has held me back. But I don't think I can hold much longer. There are just too many gophers and I need to destroy the tunnels.

I need to get out into my fields and use it there to push the gophers back. It's so bad in my south field that you can walk across the field by stepping only on gopher mounds. ....

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Iowafun
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2006-01-09          122475

Peters, I did get pissed off when one hit the garden in November. I have a big pile of dirt that I need to level out from digging up the garden with the FEL. I've got a verbal agreement with my wife's uncle to by his D4 dozer. If I had that here, a lot more than the garden would be tore up right now. ....

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kthompson
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2006-01-09          122477

Do these criters like (noise?) music? If not, Consider setting up a place for people to show off their car sound sytems. As much as some vibrate the ground does shake. If you did this weekly you probably would be deaf, but those burrowing animals may be gone. Of course all above ground animals would be also.

I looked on the web and found a site that said diesel fumes will only make you sick. Found another that said they will kill if you are in an air tight container.

On another thread it was said to use vac for ground wasp. I know I have seen on tv a giant vac for gophers.

In pausing I just realize we have a worst problem than you. If you wish you could use FIRE ANTS (that is what they are called) and if you could get them to live there dont think any burrowing animal would want to bump into them. Really believe I rather have the gopher over the ants. I probably can ship all of you more of these than you would need.

Ants are not bothered by noise. Not much else either.

I once had a very smart supervisor. He was new to Roachs and ordered a Guaranteed Roach killer with simple instructions. Turned out to be two wooden blocks with instruction to place roach on block B and hit with block A. Guess that would work with ants or gophers if size of block is of ratio.

Wonder where I could find an ant eater? Can you train them to remain on your property? Wonder if an ant eater could be trained to be a gopher eater? ....

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kwschumm
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2006-01-09          122479

Maybe you need to get a couple of rat terriers, or some other type of dog that would have endless patience to kill gophers. ....

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harvey
Join Date: Sep 2000
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2006-01-09          122484

Gotta post to this one. Oliver got me to grinnin. 4 or 5 years ago a beautiful Saturday afternoon we were paving a state road and saw smoke across the valley.
It turned out to be one of the real smart "more money than brains" college professors from Cornell.

Woodchuck moved in under his new garage. He was gonna gas em (not gasoline) and light the match. (For those of you that do not know me I have very little respect for any of them over there in Ithaca). Elitest snob liberals.

As the garage started to burn he calledd 911. So far no problem. Fire dept on way. Flames burned into electric service. Now comes the problem with his electric gate that is chained and locked. Fire dept can not get thru quickly or go around.

Fire has gotten a real got start now. Professor finds out gate locked, keys in car in garage. Gates are finially pulled down and off.

They did save the house ...

Me thinks: Never try and burn out a woodchuck living under your house, make peace with him.

I wonder how much of a fire ball the rodenator creates and if it would bother hay near the barn??? ....

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kthompson
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2006-01-09          122488

Harvey,
Any idea what kind of gas he used that burned like that?
kt
....

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harvey
Join Date: Sep 2000
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2006-01-09          122490

It was one of the over the counter gas cartridges farmers buy.

It was not so much the problem of the cartridge as it went in by dead grasses and the hole is suspose to plugged imeadately with a sod wad and that did not happen.

I would not put any thing that burns or can be ignited down a hole under, near, by my house anywhere.

Reminds me of a story Jerry Clower telling about flushing a nest of rats out of a hole with gasoline and a match... a hundred burning balls of fur running toward the hay barn... ....

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yooperpete
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2006-01-10          122537

gemplers.com sells item no. 134528 for $21.50. It is some sort of toxix worm (bromethalin)that you drop in one of their holes. It has the texture of an earth worm that molls like. It is not allowed in Alaska, Hawaii or North Carolina. One box has only 8 worms. You wear gloves when handling. Supposed to kill them in 1 day. ....

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Iowafun
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2006-01-10          122551

The poison does work. I've done it. But like abandoned houses, something always moves back in. I guess I shouldn't have shot at the badger that had moved in across the road. They eat gophers.

But I didn't want the dogs tangling with the badgers. That gets really expensive. ....

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kthompson
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2006-01-10          122557

Iowa,
Does dogs not kill gophers?

kt
....

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Peters
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2006-01-10          122562

Years ago friends told me of the Alberta government pulling down a grain elevator on the border. They called for people with rat terriers, Jack Russells and another bread I can not recall. Most of the dogs had not seen a rat before. As the elevator came down and was burned the rats started to spread in all directions. The terriers started running, catching the rats, breaking their necks and then attacking the next rat. The owners were shocked. Maybe a Jack Russell would be the answer? ....


Link:   Rat Patrol

 
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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
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2006-01-11          122588

Peters is on the right track.

My little guy will try to chew his way through the patio door to get at our local chippie who daily takes his life in his hands to scoop bird seed that has fallen from the feeders, and my female pulled the aluminum siding off the door frame to the sunroom trying get a chippie that took refuge in there.

This past summer they cornered a racoon under the dock at our cottage, there was some pretty horrible sounds coming from under there, and when I was finally able to call them off, one appeared with a piece of coon tail in her mouth, and the other had a piece of ear.

We now have a rather tattered local racoon that the neighbours used to call Rocky, now they call him Lucky. LOL.

The little girl will climb a tree after a squirrel. I doubt a gopher or rat would have much of a life span. She is so fast she can, and does much to the chagrin of my wife, outrun rabbits in our yard.

Mind you, the word Terrier comes from the French word ground, terre, and "going to ground", digging after prey is a strong instinct. Your yard wouldn't be any prettier after a couple of Jacks got rid of your gopher for you.

Best of luck. ....

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Iowafun
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2006-01-11          122601

KT - I do have 2 dogs. The female is mart and usually gets several gophers a year. The other is a lab and is NOT the brightest student on the SPECIAL bus. Great dog, but a complete idiot. He caught and killed a rock once. Serious.

A jack Russel may be the way to go. But I'm not allowed to have more dogs than we have people. I made the mistake once of bringing up the fact that we had a baby and therefore there are now 3 people. That didn't fly.

I've even eyed up bull snakes I've seen sunning themselves. If I didn't hate snakes so much, I'd catch and stuff them down the holes. I think my biggest problem is I have so many gophers that the dogs are just out numbered. It's dangerous to walk the alfalfa field due to all of the dog dug holes.

It's hard on the dogs because the pocket gophers have tunnel systems that range from 12 inches to 10 feet below ground. Makes it hard to get to the gopher quickly. Moles are close to the surface and are dead meat for my female mutt. She finds and kills them quick. Gophers are tougher. ....

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shortmagnum
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2006-01-11          122607

"The little girl will climb a tree after a squirrel. I doubt a gopher or rat would have much of a life span. She is so fast she can, and does much to the chagrin of my wife, outrun rabbits in our yard."

After 8 months I'm finally getting used to the speed of our little female JR (see pic #3). When she was about 3 months old she caught a red squirrel and was batting it about in the yard. I started to feel sorry for the poor thing so I got it away from her and let it run. The dog took off when the squirrel was only a few feet from a tree and freedom. The dog got to the tree when the squirrel was about 3 feet up. The dog's stretched height was only about 18" high then but already had good vertical jumping ability. Maybe if the squirrel had been 4 feet up he would have gained that freedom, probably not... :)
Dave ....

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Murf
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2006-01-11          122611

"...she caught a red squirrel and was batting it about in the yard."

Dave, wait until she learns, or figures out, the instinctive move, known to 'Jack' owners as the "Terrier Death-Shake".

They stand with their feet slightly splayed in every direction, and with their prey in their mouth by the neck, they shake very quickly & violently from side to side with a slight twisting motion of the head thrown in for good measure.

Anything that weighs little enough for them to be able to move expires of a broken neck in mere seconds.

It all happens so fast it is un-nerving, my wife was VERY dismayed the first time she saw it happen. I gently reminded her, that's why training is so vitally important.

As is keeping them in a fenced yard if you're going to turn your back on them for even a second.

Best of luck.

....

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Peters
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2006-01-11          122613

A good JR will break the necks on a dead run and while looking for the next victim.
How about two dogs and a ferret? When is her birthday? ....


Link:   Black footed Ferret

 
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kthompson
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2006-01-11          122614

I understand the Jack Russel is good around horses. What I have seen of them makes no sense to me. Would think the horse would get tired of them and let them have it. My nephew which has the JR and horses said it was because they move so fast the horses could not catch or kick them was why they are so good around them.
Boy what a hyper dog. No gophers here but I think I rather have them than the JR. Guess I'm just too old for such.
As to the JR killing, makes me glad I am as big as I am.

Murf, the racoon and dog story. If you have never heard any Jerry Clower coon stories you need to.

A bred that was breed for rat killing that is not near as hyper is the Yorkshire Terrier. They are so small...not sure how they compare to a gopher.
kt
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Murf
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2006-01-12          122627

Peters, if the dogs were Jacks, the ferret would last about as long as a box of Smarties with a fat kid.

Also, the hit 'n' run dispatch method is only something they can do on prey much smaller than themselves, when it comes to bigger stuff like foxes or coyotes, they have to use leverage.

Kenneth, if you describe a JRT as "Boy what a hyper dog." than I'm telling you, the dog is not properly cared for. I don't mean abuse per se, but a properly fed, trained & exercised JRT will be about as hyper as wet spaghetti noodles. If you look at my pic. # 7 you will see one of mine in his usual position, lying queitly watching the world go by.

However, a JRT, fed commercial (read: 'Ole Roy' from Wally World) food, not exercised or mentally stimulated and (God forbid) left alone for hours & hours a day, will be a lot like a small kid living on MickeyD's and candy and parked in front of the idiot box for a month.

Mine do acting and other things like the visiting dog program, where we go into seniors homes, hospitals, schools, etc., and the one comment I hear over & over & over again is "Do you tranquilize your dog? He's so calm, how do you do it?".

A dog needs the same things we do, proper diet, proper exercise and some mental activity.

If he's interested in turning the dog around get in touch, it's easy.

The female JRT we have presently is a 'rescue' dog, I don't mean she finds lost people, she was rescued from the 'final needle'. Her owner had given up, had placed her with 3 other people, who all gave her right back. My sister teaches with her and suggested she contact me. She was a basket case alright, but in a month she appeared in her first Agility competition, and got a 3rd prize!!

I've seen lots of misbehaving kids that I'm sure I could straighten out PDQ also, but that's another story. LOL.

Best of luck. ....

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kthompson
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2006-01-12          122629

Murf,
Yep, very hyper. Not sure of the food it was fed but ommercial.

Left alone...use to be a good bit. Not sure now, but it was kept in large pen in horse barn. Think they had two.

I agree that interacting with any animal normally helps calm them and the more the better. They also often take on the behaivor of their care taker. Don't they?

kt

....

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shortmagnum
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2006-01-12          122632

"As is keeping them in a fenced yard if you're going to turn your back on them for even a second."

Murf, We've been pretty lucky here. Much of the time we just let her outside for a while and she's always in earshot (I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one). Now if I could just get her to stop rolling in sh*t when she's outside...
Dave ....

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Murf
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2006-01-12          122639

"Now if I could just get her to stop rolling in sh*t when she's outside..."

Then you'd be a better man than I sir.

In 20++ years of breeding, training & keeping them I've never been able to do it, or met anyone else who could either.

I think it's just an instinctive need to be 'undercover'. LOL.

I did hear of one lady, but was never able to verify the story, who spritzed her JRT with a little cologne before she took it to fox hunts. The story was that the dog already thought it smelled and it then didn't roll in the lumps of 'horse stuff'.

Best of luck. ....

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yooperpete
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2006-01-12          122641

We had our dog (lab) washed at the vet last fall with a soap and conditioner with fragrance, prior to our U.P. trip. That's when she found the bear sxxt! That was nasty!! ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2006-01-12          122643

Pete, maybe the dog was just trying to tell you that it thought that what the bear left behind smelled better than the 'purdy' soap the vet used?

ROFLMAO. ....

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kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 5275 South Carolina
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2006-01-12          122646

Wonder if it was the bear stuff or the money he had just wasted that got him the most?
....

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Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 3034 Northern AL
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2006-01-12          122649

Well the lab/border collie cross we have keeps retrieving the horse ShXT balls. I know he is young yet but I hope he will learn like retrieving sticks and frizbees instead. ....

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Iowafun
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 955 Central Iowa
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2006-01-12          122650

My lab did the crap roll on Jan 1 (Happy New Years!) an again on Jan 3. Jan 1 was bad due to the baby having a severe diaper blow out the same day. Lots of S**t that day...

Murf, you talked about doing agility with your JR. I've thought about doing that with my mutt. She's just too smart and is suffering from seperation anxiety. I've wondered if I could build some agility type equipment and train her to giver that mental stimulation to help with the anxiety. Did you make your won agility equipment? If so, where did you get plans?

I won't try to train the lab. His attention span is pretty short unless it's food or a squirrel. When running with my mutt, he's oblivious to what's around him. She's run the Lab into trees, buildings and fences. It's funny to see and with him I don't have to worry about brain damage. Can't damage what isn't there.

My female mutt has that death shake down. You can thank my mom for that. She buys them stuffed animals at garage sales for dirt cheap. So the dogs would grab it and do teh death shake on it. Then settle down and rip the eyes out, then nose, then gut it. Makes a horrible mess in the house. But better than rolling in crap. ....

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kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 5275 South Carolina
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2006-01-16          122847

Iowa,
Reference your squealing truck engine question, could you have a gopher in it? Could they be plotting against you?

Just wondering how smart they are.
kt ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2006-01-16          122853

Peters, either hope he grows out of that , or you tech him to dig a little hole and bury it amongst the plants in the garden. If he's gonna keep doing it, you might as well turn it into a rose, so to speak.

Iowa, any kind of exercise, especially something that involves thinking is a great diversion for any dog, regrdless of breed. It also goes a long way to making them happier overall, they like having a 'job' to do, whether it actually accomplishes something or not.

The equipment is home-made, although I suspect by now I qualify as 'professionally made' since I've made so many sets over the years. LOL. There are no 'plans' per se that I've ever found, there are however, very strict rules about height, width, etc., etc., that each governing body publishes. If you want to email me I'd be happy to send you the spec's I have. I doubt it would matter if they're exactly followed or not for 'back-yard' fun. If you just search the 'net using a term like "canine agility equipment" I'm sure you'll find sites with pictures and such also.

The big factor is safety, the 'official' sizes and shapes are designed to be as safe as possible for all involved.

Best of luck. ....

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Iowafun
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 955 Central Iowa
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2006-01-16          122854

KT - no gophers in the engine. I checked. No cats either, the dogs keep them away.

The one gopher mound is getting big. I'd guestimate it's over 18" high with the dirt trailings from it's mining operation. Sigh... ....

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